I am Dr. Richard Foulkes. I am an M.D., a health care administrator and former assistant professor in the Department of Health Care and Epidemiology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. I was, also, in the 1970’s, a special consultant to the Minister of Health of British Columbia and commissioned by the Government to study the health care system of that province.

During that time, I experienced what I know the committee is now going through. I, too, was approached by senior appointed members of the public health, dental and medical establishment. They promoted the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation as enthusiastically as any pharmaceutical company representative. They presented studies and endorsements from major organizations from the World Health Organization down to the federal and regional level.

I know now that I was presented with what has been called“the tainted truth.” (1) The studies that were presented to me were selected and showed only positive results. Studies that were in existence at that time that did not fit the concept that they were “selling,” were either omitted or declared to be “bad science.” The endorsements had been won by coercion and the self interest of professional elites. Some of the basic “facts” presented to me were, I found out later, of dubious validity.

We are brought up to respect these persons in whom we have placed our trust to safeguard the public interest. It is difficult for each of us to accept that these may be misplaced……

……..Our own review (13) and two official government reviews in Canada (one, in B.C. (14), the other, Canada’s federal government (15) have shown that concentrations of fluoride in excess of 0.2-0.3 ppm in fresh water and 0.5 ppm in the marine (sea) environment, are toxic to aquatic life of all kinds, including fish such as salmon. These amounts are exceeded by the concentrations from surface water in communities fluoridated at 1 ppm and from sewer effluent that is as high as 1.38 ppm, even after treatment. It is no use claiming that “dilution is the solution to pollution” as it has been shown that these raised levels may persist for miles and that fluoride discharges into sediment persists for 1-2 million years and kills organisms living in the sediment and on the bottom.

Furthermore, a joint U.S.-Ukraine study has shown recently that among 17 toxic elements (including cadmium, lead, mercury and aluminum) tested for their effect on abnormal plant development,fluoride was the most toxic (16)…….

The city was looking to commence water fluoridation.As a result of the presentationto Orillia council, they decided to reject fluoridating their municipal water supply.

In this presentation aside from the fact that it was brought up that no toxicology test has ever been found, there was also mentioned that cities that fluoridate are also violating 3 environmental laws.

These violations are:

1-The federal 2002 species act

2- The federal 1999 Canadian Environmental Protection Act

3- And several pieces of legislation stemming from the 1985 Fisheries Act.

Fluoride causes environmental damage and fluoridation violates the Species At Risk Act. Water fluoridation at the levels of 0.7ppm far exceeds the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life.

There is an excellent presentation here at the Windsor site explaining the environmental impacts.

The Species At Risk Act says that “Conservation of wildlife species and their habitat should be supported” and that “cost-effective measures to prevent the reduction or loss of the species should not be postponed for a lack of full scientific certainty”. Habitat includes food supply. Fluoride disrupts the food web of protected species and is therefore against The Species At Risk Act.